The signature campaign for a petition to Caricom Heads of Government to urge President Bharrat Jagdeo and his administration to address a number of issues is gaining momentum, Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin says.
Corbin told Stabroek News on Saturday that copies of the petition were given to activists of the parliamentary political parties — PNCR-1G, AFC and GAP-ROAR — who have been taking them around for persons to sign.
A number of persons were also calling the PNCR to find out where they could sign the petition, he said and provision would be made at central locations for persons wanting to sign. These locations, he said, would be announced.
As to the number signed to date, neither Corbin nor AFC MP David Patterson could give a definite number. However, they both said that the response was good.
In response to observations from members of the public that too many issues were being raised at one time and that they should have been dealt with case by case, Corbin said all the issues were taken collectively to illustrate the gravity of the situation in the country.
While one organisation suggested that only security issues should have been dealt with, Patterson said, “We want Caricom to take note. It is like a report card.”
He said the issues were a compilation of some raised with the government after the 2006 general and regional elections and some were from before. “We do not want to go to Caricom every week with different issues.”
In response to feedback in which the Diaspora has indicated a willingness to support the petition, Corbin said he was aware and he would discuss this with the other opposition parties.
On this very issue, Patterson said while it was not known how online signatures would or could be treated, the AFC would be putting the petition on its website.
How the online signatures would be submitted, he said, would be explored.
When asked why the joint opposition raised the issue of food security when the heads have held a special summit and organs of Caricom were holding meetings to deal with the issue specifically, Corbin said, “It is one thing to talk and another to act.”
The issues highlighted in the petition call for the removal of the suspension of the licence of CNS TV Channel 6, owned by Justice For All Party Leader Chandra Narine Sharma; the withdrawal of the sedition charge against ex-army officer Oliver Hinckson and his immediate release from custody; the urgent enactment of broadcast legislation, based on recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Joint Committee on Radio Monopoly, Non-Partisan Boards and Broadcasting Legislation, submitted, on December 7, 2001, and adopted by Jagdeo and the late Leader of the Opposition, Desmond Hoyte; the licensing of private radio stations; equitable access by parliamentary parties to the state-owned media; the re-constitution of the Integrity Commission in accordance with the Integrity Commission Act No. 20 of 1997; an immediate end to the denial of the fundamental rights of the citizens of Guyana; the immediate enactment of the Freedom of Information Legislation.
The petition is also calling on the heads to generally, use “Caricom’s collective influence in relation to Guyana’s affairs to facilitate the creation of an environment of peace and social stability, particularly as it relates to the advancement of the issue of inclusive/shared governance, as a necessary prerequisite for progress, development and the security of Guyana and its citizens.”
It is expected that thousands of signatures would be gathered by mid-June to allow for early submission to the Caricom Heads of Government ahead of their annual summit to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in July, 2008.
